-The Hindu Business Line Disruptions in the food value chain are becoming visible now. The government needs to recognise that ensuring adequate food and nutrition for the population is as essential as providing health services The community spread of coronavirus can wreak havoc in India, as the population density is extremely high and the health infrastructure inadequate. To contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has shut the country down, including all the...

-Scroll.in Vegetable farmers are already reeling under losses and wheat farmers are worried about labour shortages. The wheat crop on Sukbhir Singh’s four acres of land 20 km from Ludhiana in Punjab will be ready for harvest next week. Plentiful rain and an unusually cold winter, said the farmer, is set to increase the yields. But he is worried about the lockdown: would he be able to harvest and transport the grain under...

-Outlook India Indian Economist Jean Drèze, in an interview with Outlook, says that because of the Coronavirus lockdown, there won’t be any employment under MNREGA now and Bihar will be the worst-hit. Belgian-born Indian economist, Jean Dreze, says that the central government needs to take immediate measures to address the situation that has emerged in the wake of mass exodus of migrant workers due to the Coronavirus lockdown. In an interview with...

-Outlook India The government needs to have a large fiscal stimulus. It needs to put more money in the hands of the poor and vulnerable, Jayati Ghosh, development economist, and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University tells Outlook. The government recently announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic package to help the poor deal with the impact of coronavirus and a 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the disease. Experts think...

-Livemint.com * One fallout of the containment measures is that children have to do without the guaranteed school meal * Anganwadi workers have been directed to anganwadi centres only to receive take-home ration NEW DELHI: Unaware of the covid-19 pandemic, four-year-old Jamuni, a malnourished girl in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, is worried that her primary school has been closed for the last 20 days. Her worry revolves around missing the mid-day meals...